Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Armed Clash Leaves 3 Dead in Reynosa

A clash on Monday, July 12, between alleged gunmen and a military detachment in Reynosa, Mexico ended with the deaths of the 3 suspects.

The shootout occurred in the afternoon on the westside of Reynosa on the Boulevard Hidalgo.

The 3 men were traveling in a gray Dodge pickup truck and were intercepted by the soldiers who stopped the vehicle. Gunfire ensued after the vehicle stopped and the 3 passengers were shot and died at the scene.

According to a SEDENA (National Defense Ministry) press release, the 3 men from the intercepted vehicle fired on the soldiers first who were forced to returned fire in self defense.

Federal Police and agents of the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s office and AEI agents arrived after the shootout and began an initial investigation into the incident.

One of the dead individuals was identified as Jorge Cantu, age 30, who was a professional wrestler fighting under the name “La Imagen” or The Image. The two other dead men were not identified but one was said to be a PEMEX worker.

The professional wrestler’s sister said she was traveling in another vehicle and saw when the soldiers shot his brother and two other men.

"I do not know what happened, they were killed with their hands up, my brother Jorge was an athlete and hoped to become a professional wrestler. I don’t know what happened, I saw them when they got out of the pickup with their hands up and suddenly I heard gunshots and he and the other 2 fell to the ground" said the sister Sandra Cantu de la O.

Witnesses who corroborated this version of events were said to have left statements in the local office of the PGR (Federal Attorney General)

The military refused to provide information to the local press other than to refer to the official SEDENA press release. Soldiers at the scene of the shooting were said to have forced several journalists to erase the graphic material from their cameras.

the merida iniciativo should provide journalist with bullet proof vest, gps systems and bullet proof vehicles to make their jobs safe. the journalist of mexico writing on these subjects, are in huaraches! get them well dressed mr calderon!

soldiers have no right to shoot suspects / innocent people unless they feel their lives are being threatened, they just shoot the hell out of them and walk away free... except for carrying a vivid memory for the rest of their lives.

The army will kill anyone for reasons that are mostly only known to the army. I believe it was on BB that some enlightened Mexican citizen wrote that "during the day the narco's will shoot you and at night the Police and Army will kidnap or shoot you. Maybe both."